Absentee Ballot Process

The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is five days prior to an election. Ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election or can be hand delivered by 5:00 pm on Election Day.

For statewide elections, absentee ballot applications and completed absentee ballots should be hand delivered or mailed to the absentee election manager in care of the circuit clerk for your county.

If you vote an absentee ballot you must submit a copy of a valid photo ID. If you are entitled to vote absentee through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, or any other federal law, you are not required to show the photo ID when voting absentee.

Absentee Voting Eligibility

You may cast an absentee ballot if you:

Will be absent from the county on Election Day

Are ill or have a physical disability that prevents a trip to the polling place

Are a registered Alabama voter living outside the county, such as a member of the armed forces, a voter employed outside the United States, a college student, or a spouse or child of such a person

Are an appointed election office or poll watcher at a polling place other than your regular polling place

You are working a required shift of ten hours or more that coincides with polling hours

Business and medical emergency voting applications can be made after the absentee deadline, but no later than 5:00 pm on the day before the election, if you:

Are required by an employer under unforeseen circumstances to be out of the county on Election Day for an emergency business trip

Have a medical emergency requiring treatment from a licensed physician

In addition to application information outlined in the next section, the business emergency application contains an affidavit acknowledging that you were not aware of the out-of-county business trip prior to the normal absentee ballot deadline. The medical emergency application requires that the attending physician describe and certify the circumstances as constituting an emergency.

To obtain an absentee ballot, write or visit the local absentee election manager at your local circuit clerk. You will need to provide the following information:

Name and residential address (or other information to verify voter registration)

Election for which the ballot is requested

Reason for absence from polls on Election Day

Party choice for primary elections

Address to which the ballot should be mailed

Voter signature (if a mark is made in place of a signature, it must be witnessed)

Upon receiving the absentee ballot application, the absentee election manager may request additional evidence on the reason for voting absentee if you have a history of absentee voting. The absentee ballot applications must turned in no later than the fifth day before the election.

If the absentee ballot application is approved, the absentee election manager forwards the absentee ballot by U.S. Mail, or personally hands the absentee ballot to the voter (or to a designee in the case of emergency voting).

Ballot Receipt/Return

The absentee ballot can not be counted unless the affidavit is notarized or has the signatures of two witnesses.

The absentee ballot comes with three envelopes: one plain (the secrecy envelope), one with an affidavit or oath, printed on the outside, and one plain envelope, preaddressed (the outer envelope). Once you cast the ballot, the procedure is as follows:

Seal the ballot in the plain envelope

Place the plain envelope inside the accompanying affidavit envelope

Seal the affidavit envelope and complete the affidavit that is on the outside of the envelope

Sign the affidavit and have the signature witnessed by either a notary public or two witnesses 18 years of age or older

Place the affidavit envelope AND a copy of voter identification inside the outer envelope

Remember to place a copy of your I.D. (NOT THE ORIGINAL) inside the outer envelope

Two legal ways to return the absentee ballot:

By U.S. mail

Personally hands the absentee ballot to the absentee election manager (or delivers by a designee in case of emergency absentee voting)

Absentee Ballot Return Deadline

Absentee ballot that is returned by mail must be postmarked no later than the day prior to the election and received by the Absentee Election Manager no later than noon on election day. If it is hand delivered, the ballot must be in the office of the Absentee Election Manager by the close of business (no later than 5 pm) on the day prior to the election.

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Campaign Finance Information

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For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

Election Dates

You can find more information about upcoming elections in Alabama HERE.

Eligibility Requirements

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To be eligible to vote in Alabama, you must be:

A United States Citizen

A resident in Alabama

At least 18 years old

Not convicted of a disqualifying felony (or have had your rights restored)*

Not legally declared mentally incompetent by a court

Note: If you turn 18 years old after the registration deadline (14 days before an election), you can still vote in the upcoming election! Just be sure you submit your registration application before the 14 day deadline to ensure you're registered as you turn 18.

ID Needed for Voter Registration

No ID is required to register to vote, however, you must have an Alabama Driver's License number, non-Driver's ID number, or Social Security Number to submit the mail in registration form.

If you would like to register online you will need a valid Alabama Driver's License or non-driver's ID to submit the application.

ID Needed for Voting?

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You must present one of the following forms of valid photo ID before voting:

Alabama Driver's License

Alabama Non-Driver ID

Alabama Photo Voter ID

State Issued ID (Alabama or any other state)

Federal Issued ID

US Passport

Employee ID from Federal Governemnt, State of Alabama, County Government, Municipality, Board, Authority, or other entity of this state

Student or employee ID from a college of university in the state of Alabama (including postgraduate technical or professional schools)

Military ID

Tribal ID

If you do not have a valid photo ID you may vote only if you are identified by two election officials in the polling place as a voter on the poll list who is eligible to vote and the election officials execute an affidavit stating this.

If you do not have a valid photo ID and the election officials are not able to identify you, you must cast a provisional ballot.

If you do not have a photo ID, you may obtain one from the Secretary of State or from your county Board of Registrars. You are able to get a new photo ID card each time you move within the state. If you are elderly or have a disability such that your polling place is not accessible, you are not required to produce identification when voting by absentee ballot.

Overseas and Military Voters

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You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Polling Place Locator

The board of registrars sends a certificate of registration to you that includes the address of your polling place. If you do not receive your certificate, or if you have further questions regarding your polling place location, please contact your local elections official.

Provisional Voting

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Provisional ballots are countetd by noon 7 days after the election. To find out if your provisional ballot was counted, use your state's provisional ballot tool.

A provisional ballot is voted the same as any other ballot except you must sign an affidavit attesting to your eligibility to vote and complete a voter update form. If your name is not on the poll list, the provisional ballot will be counted only if the county board of registrars is able to confirm, after the election, that you are a duly qualified elector of the county.

When you cast a provisional ballot because you did not have proper identification at the polling place, you have until the Friday following the election to submit the ID to the board of registrars. If proper ID is submitted by this deadline, the ballot will be counted. You may also cast a provisional ballot if you did not receive a requested absentee ballot or did not vote the absentee ballot.

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

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Any voter who wishes to have assistance is entitled to help. You may ask anyone (except your employer, an agent of the employer, or an officer or agent of the voter's union) to provide that assistance for you. If you do not request a specific individual, a poll worker may assist you at your request. Polling places should be accessible to people with disabilities. If your specific disability is not accommodated, please contact your county's board of elections.

Time Off To Vote

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Time off to vote is available for those whose work hours exceed polling place hours. If not, employers are not required to give time off to vote. The necessary time off shall not exceed one hour. Whether this time is paid varies by town.

Verify Voter Registration

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To verify your voter registration status, please use your state resource oryour elections office or board of elections for your county , or your local League of Women Voters.

Once your application has been processed by your local board of registrars, you should receive an acknowledgement from the registrars indicating the status of your application. This acknowledgement will usually be a voter identification card confirming that you are registered to vote. However, if your application was incomplete, you may receive a letter requesting additional information to complete your application.

Voting Machines

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The voting system used in Alabama is optical scan.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

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